Thursday, December 25, 2014

The 12 Posts of Christmas (2014 edition) #9

Today, in addition to being Christmas Day, it is also LBA's birthday - today he reaches double digits!  We will celebrate in our usual way, with Christmas in the morning and birthday festivities in the evening.

Of course, LBA shares his birthday with another more famous individual.  However, there is no exact documentation for the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ, though it was believed to have been in the year 6 BC.  Over the first two centuries, few claimed to know that exact day or year of Christ's birth.  In AD 336, the Church of Rome held a festival of Christ's Nativity, according to a Roman almanac, the first indication of celebrating December 25 as Christmas.

Many researchers believe the date was chosen as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice (we, of course, also adopted the pagan use of trees for decorating).  When Constantine I converted to Christianity in AD 312, the day of Christmas became fixed on December 25, appropriating the winter solstice celebrations.

Merry Christmas to all and Happy Birthday to my little buddy, LBA!

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